University of Tennessee Athletics
1951 Team Member, Coaching Legend Dies
March 08, 2011 | Football
March 8, 2011
Bob Fisher, a member of Tennessee's 1951 national championship football team who went on to a long and successful high school coaching career, died Saturday in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, due to complications from pneumonia. He was 78.
Fisher played defensive tackle and was a kickoff specialist for the Vols from 1951-53, helping UT to the 1951 title and also playing in the final season under legendary head coach Gen. Robert R. Neyland. Fisher was coached by Harvey Robinson during his senior campaign of 1953, when he was named All-SEC first team tackle by United Press International and second team by Associated Press.
After graduating from UT in 1954 and serving a tour of active duty with the U.S. Army, Fisher got his first job as a teacher and assistant high school football coach in North Canton, Ga. It was 1957 and the beginning of a 40-year coaching career that spanned three states.
Fisher returned to East Tennessee for his first head coaching position at South Pittsburg High School, just outside Chattanooga, followed by stints at McMinn Central, Grafton Midview (Ohio) and back to Gatlinburg-Pittman before making his way north for good.
He was hired in 1968 by Cleveland Collinwood High School, where he was the assistant coach to brother-in-law and longtime coach Joseph Trivisonno for two years before taking over the reins and coaching 24 years. Fisher won three city titles at Collinwood and became a coaching legend in the football-friendly Buckeye State.
A member of the UT Lettermen's Club until his death, Fisher is survived by his sons, Don, of Philadelphia; Robert, of Cleveland; and David, of Cleveland; and a daughter, Michelle, of Atlanta. Fisher and his wife, Judith, who died in 1998, had five grandchildren.
McMahon-Coyne-Vitantonio Funeral Home in Willoughby, Ohio, is handling the arrangements, with internment at Cleveland's Lakeview Cemetary. The family suggests contributions to the Special Olympics either online or by using the mail-in form.
